Author's Note

The world is against me when it comes to writing chapters for this story, two cases of art block and a sick day sure help alot when it comes to writing. *Sarcasm*
So I decided to cut this chapter in half to give it to you guys sooner, it was meant to be at least two times longer but that'd take another week or so, so enjoy!

Last Leg (Part 1)

Chapter 10: Last Leg (Part 1)

Twilight didn't sleep a wink that night, and she sported dark bags under her eyes to prove it. She wasted no time in getting everypony awake and down to breakfast. They left shortly, trotting across the flats at a brisk pace, but not before all of Twilight's friends noticed her mood. She was sullen and snappish, and she walked with her head hanging low, ears sagged. Her hoofsteps were broken and clumsy, more than once her bad leg threatened to collapse on her and she ended up being forced into a brief rest. She wasn't injured, she was simply exhausted, and the small rests were not enough to rejuvenate her fully. But it was the best they could do, as she insisted they reach Gadgetzan by midday.

The flats themselves were surrounded on the eastern, northern, and southern sides by tall, yellow mountains. Twilight was leading her group to a small, natural break in the southern mountains, upon which a path had been carved. It was a steep, rocky path and all ponies - besides Rainbow Dash that is - had some difficulties with loose stones and crumbling footholds while climbing. The path narrowed at one point, and then opened up and curved downhill at a much gentler slope. The ponies walked down with far more ease than the climb up, as Tanaris was on a higher elevation than the canyons of Thousand Needles. And right before the path was the goblin town of Gadgetzan. It was surrounded on all sides by a thick, sand-colored stone wall, the entrances were marked by metal doors, guarded by the bruisers that goblins cherished so.

It was easier to get into the small town than they had imagined, as the guards simply inspected them and waved them through without a second glance. The inside of Gadgetzan contained many domed buildings and a giant fighting ring in the middle, something they likely bet upon, as there were fearsome and unheard-of creatures caged outside. They made their way to a larger building, rectangular in shape and marked as a tavern with a depiction of ale on a sign above the entrance. "We are only stopping to eat. Afterwards we are going across the desert to Un'Goro, we need to be there before nightfall." Twilight turned to explain the plan to them, receiving nods and mumbles of agreement from her companions.

Upon entering they were greeted by yet another female goblin who was just as energetic - if not more so - than the previous they had met. Twilight got her group a table in one of the corners of the building, and there they waited for food. The wait mostly consisted of silence, a hoof tapping impatiently on the table from some of its residents. "You know...." Pinkie began, a thoughtful furrow in her brow, and all at the table turned to look at her, "..I've already been with you a couple days, but I just realized I have no idea what you guys are up to! Why are we headed to Silithus?"

Twilight groaned and planted her forehead into the table, Shining gaped in realization, whereas Rarity and Rainbow were trying - and failing - to suppress laughter. Shining cleared his throat, "Well, it's honestly, I suppose, not exactly something to disclose in a tavern?" his voice raised slightly in pitch as he spoke in uncertainty.

"Indeed." Rarity nodded, "Sorry, Pinkie, Applejack, but I'm afraid that's going to have to wait until we are on the road. It wouldn't do to cause unnecessary panic." the unicorn waved her hoof towards the surrounding room.

Pinkie cocked her head and perked her ears, "Unnecessary panic? What could you possibly be doing that would cause panic?" she asked in interest.

"It's honestly better you leave it be until we get on the road...seriously..." Twilight mumbled from her place on the table, forehead still planted firmly on the wood.

Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder, "Hey, are you alright Twi?" she asked cautiously, thinking back to the events of the morning before.

Twilight brought a hoof up as she straightened and rubbed her forehead, "I'm ok, just a little tired." she sighed, nodding in thanks when the barmaid delivered a simple snack of cactus fruit and (likely imported) hay. Along with water instead of ale, as it was a desert and most travelers weren't looking to warm themselves with a fizzy beer, but rather hydrate with a cold tankard of water.

"Wow..." Rainbow chuckled, staring at Twilight with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"What?" Twilight grumbled.

"I didn't think you'd ever admit that." she shrugged, yelping when Applejack jabbed her in the side with her elbow.

Twilight glowered at her and grabbed a cactus pear with her telekinesis, biting into the juicy fruit and mentally reminding herself to put Rainbow on silent treatment. "So, when we leave to cross the desert, I might as well warn you, it's not going to be easy. In fact, this is only the first barrier between us and Silithus, the latter being Un'Goro." Twilight pulled her map out after she had swallowed, although she hadn't stopped eating to speak and received a disapproving glare from Rarity. She pointed to the tiny indication of Gadgetzan on the map, "The desert has frequent sandstorms, frequent as in about every few hours. There are also rocs, hyenas, basilisks, scorpids, and trolls." she summarized, looking up at her companions before continuing, "Along with them, there are also patches of ancient Nerubian nesting grounds, we will only cross by one along the cliffs on the west side of the desert. The Nerubians themselves have moved on, but Silithid have moved in, and they are very hard to kill, so we should be careful when we pass by. Normally they don't attack unless you wander into the grounds or the hive, so we'll likely not have a skirmish, but either way we should be cautious."

Applejack raised her hoof, causing Twilight to chuckle slightly, "Yes AJ?"

Applejack smiled, "Nerubians? Ah hear tell they're related to changelings, is that right?" she asked, scratching at her mane, as she had removed her helmet and set it before her to rest her chin on while she ate and listened.

Twilight pursed her lips, "In a way, Nerubians are more arachnid-like in form and species than changelings. And changelings are more or less an equine species rather than a pure insectoid species, but they have some common ancestry when it comes to their creation." she clarified, receiving an interested nod in return, "Why did you want to know?"

Applejack blushed, "Well, Ah...Ah have a hobby in archeology...ancient cultures always intrigued me." she sheepishly admitted, as if it were wrong.

Twilight's eyes widened in excitement and she grinned, "Applejack, I like you!" she chuckled at her raised eyebrow, "I think we're going to get along quite well."

Shining looked at the map, "What else is there about this desert we should know?" he prompted.

Twilight nodded and looked over the map, "Anyway, we should beware of sandwinders in the desert beyond the Silithid hive, they are not your average snakes. Afterwards, there is a small cactus grove called Thistleshrub Valley just before the descent to Un'Goro Crater. We will stay there for the night and make our way to Marshall's Stand tomorrow. Any questions?" she asked, pointing to the tiny depictions on the map as she spoke.

A chorus of no's answered her and she looked up with a smile smile, "Good, lets finish up then, we don't want to be caught out after dark in this Celestia-forsaken desert." she gestured with a hoof to the food and her companions eagerly dug in without complaint, it was going to be a long journey.

They had exited Gadgetzan only minutes before, and the seemingly breeze-less day turned into a full-scale sandstorm. The ponies stood with their backs to the wind, huddled together and their faces covered with strips of cloth. It was impossible to see, so they were stuck on a sand dune, waiting the storm out. They had to shuffle hooves every here and there because of the building sand, and Rainbow kept being pulled from the huddle because of the wind catching her wings, so they placed her in the middle.

The harsh wind slowly, but surely, subsided over the course of at least twenty minutes. But even when the sand had stopped flying there was a strong wind that sent their manes whipping about their heads. Twilight looked up at the sky as soon as the storm had ceased and determined which direction they were facing. They had been heading west when the storm began, turning about had them facing southeast, so she corrected and began leading them down the now-larger sand dune.

The sun blazed down on their backs, Rarity, Pinkie, and Shining were the first to start panting due to their thicker clothes. And they ended up partially stripping and stuffing the sweaty garments into the saddlebags they wore to keep cool. Twilight conjured water after the first twenty minutes of walking, much to the grateful reception of her companions. They drank while walking, not wanting to waste any moment of the day, for although the day was hot and dehydrating, the night was far too dangerous to be caught out after sunset. Applejack and Rainbow both had the idea of dousing themselves in their drinks, and afterwards shook to spray their companions with the cool liquid. While at first not amused, Twilight was soon conjuring more water to dump over her fellow pony's heads, and then her own.

The sun had reached its peak by the time Twilight called for them to stop while she checked her map and changed direction. They were near a cliff that plummeted downwards for what seemed to be at least fifty stories before it gave way to thick treetops. Twilight was leading them south now, along the cliff, which was blocked off by short, rocky hills. The unseen path they followed was difficult to walk upon because of small pebbles constantly tripping them up or lodging themselves painfully into unsuspecting hooves.

Shining walked alongside Twilight at her own request, as she had sheepishly admitted to him in a whisper that she didn't want to lose control again near the cliffs. Twilight was walking with her head hanging slightly and her ears drooped. When Shining looked to the side he noticed her eyes slowly and carefully blinking, as if she were trying to stay awake. He had no doubt that she was exhausted, but when sleep provided little-to-no relief, what was a pony to do about it?

Twilight bumped into him more than once, jerking away from his side with a mumbled apology and a shaking head. She was practically walking and sleeping at the same time, and at this rate, Shining figured she may keel over from sleep-deprivation. "You can lean on me while we walk if it helps." he suggested the third time she bumped into him, and Twilight looked up with glazed, half-lidded eyes, blinking tiredly.

"Just this once..." she mumbled, pressing her shoulder against his while they walked, her head downcast and watching her hooves as they shuffled in the sand. Shining frowned despite the fact that she complied, this needed to stop, soon! Otherwise he was going to lose her all over again. Shining looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with both Rarity and Rainbow, who shared the same concern in their eyes. His gaze drifted to Pinkie Pie, who was stopping her gait to shake pebbles out of her hooves every so often. As she had stuffed her boots into the saddlebags she wore to relieve her congested skin.

He was going to have a good chat with them when they made camp, they needed to work together to possibly find out what was haunting Twilight. Banishing the foul magic would be their best bet, if it was possible that is. Between the paladin and the priest they should be able to figure it out, he hoped. Shining jumped when Twilight stumbled briefly before she looked at him with a tired smile and resumed leaning against his side. Shining nuzzled her forelock and sighed, She can't keep going like this...and one thing's for sure, I'm not losing her again. Never.

They had inched around the Silithid hive (which Twilight informed them was called The Noxious Lair) by the time the sun was nearing the western horizon. Sunset was - thankfully - delayed, due to the higher elevation of the desert, as the mountains it was suspended upon were level with those of the opposite side of Un'Goro. They had reached Thistleshrub Valley by the time the glowing orb touched the other end of the sky. Setting up camp was quieter than usual, everypony did their respective chores and sat down to eat, Rainbow and Pinkie taking first watch and eyeing the desert around them.

Twilight was convinced to go to sleep, albeit reluctantly, because, as Applejack put it: " Ya can't lead us through Un'Goro while yer asleep on yer hooves!"

When Shining was certain she was asleep, he sat between the other mares in the company and sighed. "Rarity, have you been using that prayer you showed me every night?"

Rarity nodded, "Yes, I have, but I'm afraid it seemed to lose its potency over the course of the days. I still cast it, but like I said, it's as if the darkness built an immunity to the spell." she explained.

Shining pursed his lips and hummed, glancing at his sister, "Pinkie, do you think there is anything you can do?" he asked the paladin.

Pinkie rubbed the sore soles of her hooves and sighed, "I didn't study the healing arts very much, but there are some things I was required to learn that could help." she pulled a rather large, uncomfortable looking pebble from her hoof with a wince before she continued, "Perhaps, with Rarity's help, I could place a ward on her. Holy magic fights shadow magic the best, but I'm not sure if it is actually mere shadow magic if it can overcome Rarity's prayer spell. She told me how it works and I can honestly say it's a powerful prayer, I don't know how the magic could overcome it. We truly are up against some ancient evil, perhaps older than even the Light." Pinkie glanced at Shining meaningfully, noticing him inhale at her implication while she scratched the back of her head with a hoof.

"That reminds me, ya'll still need to explain just why we're here." Applejack prodded from where she lay, she was propped up against a boulder and dragged a sharpening stone across the blades of her axe lazily.

Shining nodded, "Of course, now is as good a time as any." he adjusted himself before continuing, "Twilight, Rarity and I infiltrated Mauradon a little over a week ago. Theradras told Twilight that there is an Old God who has returned to our world and resides in Ahn'Qiraj. Basically, that's the reason for this journey. We're meeting Tyrande's forces in Cenarion Hold." he explained.

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow, "I suppose that does qualify as grounds for panic. But, why didn't you just take a gryphon to Cenarion Hold? Surely that'd have been easier?"

Shining blinked, "Well, I think it was Twilight's decision, perhaps we didn't have enough money. I don't know. But if we hadn't I wouldn't have met up with you again, right?" he wiggled his eyebrows at Pinkie, who scoffed, but grinned.

"Do ya'll seriously believe ya can take down an Old God? Ah mean, the amount of holy power that would take is immense!" Applejack sat up straighter while she spoke.

"How do you know...oh, right, archeology." Rarity began, but reminded herself mid-sentence.

Shining bit his lip, "Twilight wasn't exactly straightforward to me about it. I asked her myself, but she just brushed me off." he looked at the now-sleeping form of his sister in confusion.

"That is actually a major detail we overlooked, I can't believe I never thought of it!" Rarity exclaimed, "Should we ask her when she wakes up?" the unicorn had gotten to her hooves nervously.

Shining raised a foreleg, "Calm down, I'm sure Twilight has a plan. But like I said, she's not a very straightforward pony, she may want to take her time."

"Time we likely don't have." Rainbow said, "We'll be in Silithus in two days! We should've known what we are up against and how to defeat him right away! How are we supposed to adjust to this type of information?"

Shining raised his eyebrows, "She didn't tell you why we were headed this way?" he asked incredulously.

Rainbow shrugged and gave a slight nod, "Well, I mean she did say it would be dangerous but she never gave specifics."

Shining nodded, "But would you still have wanted to come if you knew at the start?"

Rainbow pondered, "Yes, if she needed my help I'd go no matter what the dangers." she said proudly.

"Then technically there is no reason to be angry." Rarity said, "If Twilight thought you should know, I'm sure she would have told you. Perhaps she knows more than us?"

The whole camp fell silent and looked at the sleeping subject of their discussion, her face was slightly contorted in discomfort, and she shifted in her slumber. In all honesty, they couldn't be more wrong, she had no idea how she was going to pull this off. The big picture was as much a mystery to her as it was to them, her minor peek that Theradras had provided was just that, a peek, barely enough to work off of.

Twilight blinked awake, her dream had consisted of blind wandering through another plane of blackness. But this time, there was no voice, just her, a single, solitary pony who stumbled around in effort to find anything in that sightless dreamscape. Shining was sleeping beside her, and - rather amusingly - on his back, legs curled above him as he quietly snored. Twilight gave a small, quiet chuckle and lifted her head, the campfire had grown small, and the moons illuminated the landscape brightly. The endless expanse of sand turned a bright, blue hue, reflecting the glow back into the sky. Rarity and Applejack were on guard, sitting resolutely and staring at the sands, as if daring any prowling creatures to try something.

Twilight rolled from her side and onto her knees, carefully lifting herself from the blanket and shaking her fur. She approached the campfire and sniffed at the stew that sat atop it. Her stomach rumbled in apprehension, so she fixed herself a bowl and returned to her blanket. When she sat back down and sunk onto her forelegs she woke her brother, who jerked and rolled onto his hooves a little too hurriedly and stumbled before he tripped over his hooves and fell back onto the blanket.

Twilight chuckled at the sleepy confusion on his face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." she looked down at her stew and lifted the spoon to her mouth through her telekinesis.

Shining stood more carefully this time, shaking his fur free of any mats from sleeping on his back. "It's ok, I wasn't completely awake, acted on instinct." he yawned, laying back down on his side and inhaling deeply. "Did you dream?" he asked cautiously.

Twilight sighed, "Yeah, but it wasn't that bad, it was just dark, and I simply walked around for what seemed to be ages until I woke up. Not a pleasant dream, but it wasn't a nightmare." she stared at her stew with a light frown before taking a bite.

"Really?" Shining lifted his head and looked over his shoulder at her.

Twilight nodded, "I feel a little better too, like I actually slept." she yawned shortly after that statement, grinning sheepishly afterwards, "Emphasis on little..." she muttered.

Shining's eyes glittered with excitement, "That's great! Maybe they're going away?" he suggested.

Twilight glanced at him without turning her head, "Maybe, most likely not. I'm not going to get my hopes up." she pushed her empty bowl away and pulled the blanket over her back before she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes with a sigh.

Shining pursed his bottom lip before biting it in thought, So it worked...

In the morning she re-awoke with a jolt, "Another one..." she growled, getting to her hooves and rubbing her tired eyes with a quiet, forlorn whine. Everypony else had begun to pack up camp, so she went about rolling up her own blanket and placing any necessities she had pulled out back into her saddlebags. The sun had risen no more than half an hour before, yet already the day felt hot. Twilight glanced at the path they had camped by, there was a trail of flattened dirt and sparse stones that led down to Un'Goro. Even from the top of the cliff-face one could see the tree-tops, and although there would be shade from the sun, Un'Goro would be hotter than the deserts of Tanaris. The humidity combined with hot-springs and even a small volcano in the middle of the giant crater would make sure of that.

Twilight secured her saddlebags over her back and gulped down some conjured water. Today was going to be miserable, no doubt her fellow ponies would be complaining without end till they set up camp, And possibly even after that. she thought to herself with a resigned smirk. "Alright everypony, I'd like to be at Marshall's Stand by the end of the day. If the Tanaris desert is bad at night, Un'Goro is ten times worse. We aren't up against simple creatures like hyenas and scorpids down there." she said as she trotted through the camp, headed along the path that led down the cliff side.

"What are we up against?" Applejack asked, trotting along with Twilight, everypony else had finished packing up and were now huddled together out of apprehension for the unknown.

Twilight pursed her lips, "Ever study Un'Goro Crater?" she asked, keeping her eyes on her hooves, not wanting to chance a fall on such a steep slope.

Applejack nodded, "The fossil records, yeah. Why?"

"What kind of creatures did they dig up fossils of?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

Applejack nearly stopped in her tracks, "Yer kidding me!" she exclaimed, "They ain't extinct? If that ain't a mood killer Ah dunno what is."

Twilight chuckled, "If those books never thought to tell you they aren't extinct I'll have to go give the author a good talking-to."

"What aren't extinct?" Rarity asked nervously, slipping on a few rocks when she took her attention off the trail.

Twilight looked up as the trail leveled out into a thick, jungle-like marsh, the trees towered many stories above them. The path immediately ahead was marred by many small rivers and pools. The ground was covered in thick moss and grasses. "I think you're about to find out." Twilight mumbled with a deep sigh, steeling herself before she took the first step onto the mossy path.

The thick foliage hardly made a sound as her hoof sank into it, mud was pushed up, however, and stained her fur as she continued on. Her companions followed closely, jumping at every unknown sound that came along. Shining was glued to Twilight's side, causing her to roll her eyes, as getting some real rest the night before returned some of her characteristic independence.

An unknown creature chirped nearby and scared the group, causing them to turn with weapons drawn and spells ready towards a bush. Sitting on one of the branches was a large, indigo macaw, who eyed them curiously before squawking and flying away. The ponies relaxed with collective sighs, "That scared the willies outta me!" Applejack exclaimed as they continued along the mossy trail.

"I knew it was just a bird..." Rainbow fibbed.

Pinkie rolled her eyes, "Then how come you shot up in the air like a gnomish rocket-chicken? You were shaking worse than a filly during the Hallow's." the pink mare smirked when Rainbow turned a bright red and mumbled under her breath as the group laughed.

Twilight gave a half-smile, At least it was just a bird...there are a lot worse things out there. her lips fell into a frown again as she glanced ahead...indeed, far worse...